MULTAN: Ayub Agriculture Research Institute (AARI) has introduced over 500 seed varieties of different crops during the last five-and-a-half decades since its establishment in 1962.
AARI spokesman Naveed Asmat Kahlon said in a statement on Tuesday that the institute is serving as an engine for agriculture development and has so far developed 83 wheat varieties, 62 cotton varieties, 27 paddy varieties, 25 sugarcane, 29 varieties of maize and millet, 31 varieties of pulses, 32 oil seed varieties, 27 fodder varieties, 65 vegetables varieties, 105 fruit varieties and three flower varieties.
Kahlon said that AARI Faisalabad has now embarked on research initiatives targeting non-traditional crops, including olive, grapes, Nigella Stevia (Kalonji), besides costly fruits, including pistachio, black berry, blue berry, avocado, cranberry (falsa) and others. Moreover, AARI's Climate Change Research Centre is actively engaged in developing new crop varieties that can resist sudden shift in weather behaviour.
Other ongoing research initiatives included organic farming, crop growth without pesticides application, introducing double gene of BT in cotton seed, introduction of gene to fight weeds, development of wheat varieties having good quantity of iron, zinc and protein, hybrid varieties of basmati, oilseed and vegetables, seedless guava, nine kinds of different costly fruit varieties that can survive hot weather conditions and shortage of water and fertilisers.
AARI scientists are working hard under director general Dr Abid Mahmood's supervision to implement secretary agriculture Muhammad Mahmud's vision of promoting innovative ideas and demand-oriented research to make agriculture profitable for farmers and enhance its contribution to the national economy, the spokesman added.